El Pollo Loco falls on "surprise" CEO resignation announcement

El Pollo Loco Holdings

15/10/2021 18:25

** Shares in fire-grilled chicken restaurant chain  LOCO.O 
fall 3.4% to $16.14 and are set for worst day since late March
    ** Bernard Acoca resigned as director, CEO and president of
El Pollo Loco and its affiliates, to pursue other opportunities,
after three and a half years at the helm - LOCO
    ** William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia says the brokerage
was surprised by the timing of today's announcement as Acoca had
been the driving force behind LOCO's ongoing transformation
agenda
    ** LOCO says it has appointed longtime CFO Laurance Roberts
as interim-CEO, with Acoca providing consulting services to
ensure a smooth transition
    ** Acoca had largely set the stage for LOCO's next phase
given significant progress on several initiatives - Zackfia
    ** LOCO shares down nearly 11% this year

 (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam)
 ((Praveen.Paramasivam@thomsonreuters.com;))